Rafael emailed back their approval and asked if Carmen had gone to Angel’s Retreat yet. She said not yet, but she had an interview that afternoon. He also asked if she knew what the air date would be so they could be sure to watch it when it came on. Carmen didn’t know, but said that she would let them know just as soon as she did.
Thornton Park consumed most of their time for the first several weeks it was open. Not that they were actually needed on site, but they were like kids with new toys, and were just obsessed with being there most of the time to see how things were going.
They were learning what excellent choices they had made in the three couples they had hired. The other employees were great, too, but the three live-in couples were proving to be invaluable assets to them. Not only did they really know their stuff, they also were wonderful with the public, and had meshed together and worked in concert like well-oiled machinery.
Rafael knew that he and Victoria could be gone for weeks at a time and the park would thrive. The only thing that they were needed for at this time was to make the nightly bank deposits and to keep the gift shop stocked. But he had plans to relieve themselves of even those duties, because they wanted to do some traveling that summer. That motorhome of theirs was just begging to be taken out to play.
He knew by now that Mickey could be trusted to handling the deposits. And Lena was as interested in the gift shop as was Victoria, so he knew that between the two of them, it would be well taken care of. Lena may have only been a cook and housekeeper all her life, but she was no dummy. She had a keen eye for great merchandise, and a listening ear to what the customers wanted. She was working only two days a week in the gift shop, but already knew more about it than even Sarah did, and Sarah was great.
So it was with confidence that Rafael approached the subject of an extended vacation to Victoria, who was all for it, provided the park would be all right with them gone.
“I am quite confident that our park managers are capable of running things without us. I doubt that Walt Disney spent every waking moment at Disneyland, and our little park is nothing compared to Disneyland,” Rafael assured her.
“Yeah, not quite,” Victoria giggled. “So where do you want to go, and how long do you want to be gone?”
“Well, we’ll have to figure all that out. Why don’t we both start making a list of all the places we’d like to go and things we’d like to do, and then match them up to plot an itinerary,” Rafael suggested.
“Sounds good to me. Are we confining ourselves to the Lower Forty-eight this trip?”
“Yeah, I think so. For now anyway.”
“Okay. I’m good with that. Just checking, though. When do you want to go?”
“Well, it’s already the twentieth of June,” Rafael said. “What do you say we shoot for July first? That gives us the rest of this week and all of next to get ready and to plot out a route, and another week and a half to monitor the park.”
“I think that’ll work,” Victoria said. “I’ll start getting the motorhome ready, which shouldn’t take too much, because we pretty well restocked it after the last time we used it. But I can start taking out the clothes that we’ll want, and check on what food is needed.”
“Yeah, and I’ll run it in for an oil change and a once-over to make sure it’s still perfect. It should be. It doesn’t have that many miles on it yet. But if I get the oil changed now, we won’t have to do it on the road but maybe once.”
“Do you want to pick out your own clothes, or do you want me to pick them out for you?”
“You mean to take on the trip?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll do it. There’s already underwear and socks out there, isn’t there?”
“Pretty sure there is. For both of us. But I’ll double check.”
“How long can we be gone?” Victoria asked.
“I’d really like to be gone two or three months, but we’ll have to see how it goes,” Rafael answered.
“Oh, cool!”
With the date set, they had a goal to work towards. The next thing would be to figure where to go, and where to go first. Choosing places to go wouldn’t be difficult. Narrowing them down to what they could see and do in the allotted time was another thing.
Chapter Twelve
After their discussion, Victoria set about right away to make a list of all the places that she knew about that she wanted to see. She went to the bookcase and pulled down a United States atlas just to have for a reference. Her starter list went something like this:
Crater Lake National Park
Yellowstone
Mt. Rushmore
Mall of America
Wisconsin Dells
Chicago
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
Amish country in Pennsylvania
Niagara Falls
Great Lakes, all of them
Maine
Vermont
Rhode Island (just because it’s the smallest state)
Cape Cod
Washington, DC and the Smithsonian
Roanoke Island, North Carolina
Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC
Graceland
Charleston, South Carolina
Disney World, Florida
The Everglades
Georgia plantations
New Orleans
All of Texas
Victoria laid aside her list for the time being, knowing that she would add to it. She intended to do some Internet searching a little later. But now it was lunchtime and she was hungry. Rafael had gone into his home office to do some work.
Lena was already in the kitchen starting to fix something to eat.
“Whatcha makin’?” Victoria asked as she entered the kitchen.
“Thought I’d whip out some cheese enchiladas,” Lena answered. “I’ve got some rice cooked to make into Spanish rice, and we’ve got salad stuff.”
“Sounds yummy to me,” Victoria said. “Can I help?”
“You can grate some cheese while I start the rice. Here, fill up this bowl,” Lena said as she handed Victoria a medium sized plastic bowl.
Victoria got the cheese out of the refrigerator and the grater out of the drawer and set to work. By the time Lena had the onions and green peppers chopped for the rice, Victoria had plenty of cheese grated.
“Now what?” she asked Lena.
“You can dip the tortillas in the sauce, and then put a gob of cheese in each one and roll it up. Put them in this pan,” she said pointing to an oblong baking pan on the counter.
“Like this?” Victoria asked as she demonstrated what Lena had just told her to do.
“That’s it,” Lena said. “Just keep doing that until the pan is full”
While they worked, Victoria told Lena about their plans to take a summer vacation in the motorhome. Lena was enthusiastic about the idea, and told Victoria that she could handle the inventory for the gift shop with no problem.
“I’m sure that the three manager couples can well handle things while you kids are gone,” she said confidently.
“Oh, I think so, too,” Victoria said. “I just kinda feel funny about starting up such a major project and then leaving it for such a long time. But I know that we can’t be there every minute of every day. And I’ve dreamed of taking a long trip in the motorhome ever since we first bought it. You’ll be all right here by yourself, won’t you? Grandma and Grandpa aren’t that far away.”
“I’ll be just fine,” Lena assured her. “Don’t you even worry about me. Shoot, I’ll be a lady of leisure with you two gone. I’ll just be laying around the pool reading books or going shopping.”
“You just do that,” Victoria grinned at her mama. “You deserve to relax. You still do too much around here, but I don’t know how I’d get along without you. Marian never taught me how to be a housewife. All I know about it is what I learned on my own in Seattle, and what you’ve taught me since I came back.”
“You would be just fine without me, honey.
But I’m glad to still be useful,” Lena said, giving her daughter a one-armed hug.
Before too long, Victoria went to call Rafael to come and eat. He told her that Carmen had emailed him saying that their interview would be on TV that evening at 6:05.
“Oh, good,” Victoria said. “I was kind of afraid that it might not air until after we left on our vacation.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Rafael said, closing the lid on his laptop computer and getting up to go eat.
While they ate, Victoria showed Rafael her list. He didn’t say much, because he was too busy keeping his mouth full, but he nodded approvingly as he scanned the list.
“I’ve got one started, too,” he said around a mouthful of enchilada. “Some of the same places, but some different.”
“I’m sure we’ll learn of more between now and then, too, and we’ll discover places along the way that we don’t even know about,” Victoria said.
“Yeah, no doubt. Let’s be real open and flexible and not stick rigidly to a schedule. Okay?” Rafael stated.
“For sure,” Victoria said. “I like spur of the moment adventures and discovering new things. I’d like to take some side roads, some old highways, and try to stay off of the freeways as much as is possible. You don’t see much from the freeway, it doesn’t seem to me like. The cool stuff is on the old highways or on side roads. Off the beaten path.”
“I’m all for that,” Rafael agreed.
The family of three met in the family room a little before six that evening. They wanted to be all ready to watch the interview. Rafael brought his list to show Victoria while they waited. His went like this:
Crazy Horse Memorial
Deadwood, SD
Cody, Wyoming
Yellowstone
Custer’s Battlefield
Niagara Falls
Statue of Liberty
Washington, DC
Gettysburg and as many Civil War battlefields as we can
Concord/Lexington, Mass.
Old Fort Niagara
Kitty Hawk, NC
USS North Carolina
Florida Keys
Dollywood
Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Jesse James’ last home in St. Louis, MO
“Wow! You thought of a bunch of places that I hadn’t,” Victoria exclaimed as she read over his life. Good job! I want to go to Dollywood, too, and the Statue of Liberty. They all sound like great places to go.”
“So do yours. Well, except for the Mall of America,” Rafael teased. “A mall is a mall, isn’t it?”
“Not even!” Victoria and Lena both exclaimed at once.
“This is the second largest mall in the States,” Victoria told him. “And there’s even stuff there that you’ll like.”
“In a mall? I doubt that,” Rafael said with a roll of his eyes.
“Did you play with Legos as a kid?” Victoria asked.
“I loved my Legos,” he answered.
“There’s a giant Lego store there.”
“Oh, yeah?” Rafael’s interest level went up a notch.
“Ever wanted to fly a WW Two fighter plane?”
“That would be cool. How’m I gonna do that in a mall?”
“They have a flight simulator where you can fly war planes or F-18 jets, and even land it on an aircraft carrier.”
“Now that sounds cool!” Rafael exclaimed. “And all that’s supposed to be in this whoop-de-do mall of yours?”
“Sure is,” Victoria grinned triumphantly.
“Well, okay, we’ll put it on the list, then,” he said, returning her grin.
“Ye-es!”
“Hey, we’re on,” Rafael said.
Instantly the three were silent as Carmen Blakely began her human-interest segment titled Life in Los Angeles. For the next fifteen minutes, they all watched attentively to themselves being interviewed. When it was over, they all agreed that it had gone quite well.
“I just hope that someone benefits from it,” Victoria said.
“I wonder when she’ll do the Angel’s Retreat one,” Rafael wanted to know.
“Yeah, I’d like to see that one, too, for sure,” Victoria said.
Just then Rafael’s cell phone rang. He looked at Caller ID and saw that it was their real estate agent.
“Wonder what he wants?” Victoria said quietly as Rafael answered.
“Hello?”
Pause.
“Really? That’s wonderful news!”
Pause.
“Sure, tomorrow morning is great. Where do you want to meet?”
Pause.
“Your office. Sure. Eight-thirty. We’ll be there. Thanks a lot.”
Pause.
See you then. Bye.
“What did he want?” Victoria asked.
“The house finally sold today,” Rafael told her.
“Oh, yippee!” Victoria yelled. “Cash?”
“Yep. We pick the check up in the morning at Doug Bush’s office.”
“Cool.”
“That’s a load off,” Rafael said. “I was beginning to think it wasn’t going to sell. At least not for our price.”
“Tell you the truth, some days I forget all about that place,” Victoria said. “We have been so busy with everything that I almost forgot about it.”
Lena had been quiet throughout their exchange. But now Victoria noticed, and touched her shoulder.
“You miss the old place, don’t you, Mama?” she asked gently.
Lena looked at her daughter.
“Well, sometimes, I guess I do,” she admitted. “But nostalgia aside, I really like this place better. I love my little suite, and I love being so free. And I love being able to openly love my daughter.”
“I love you, too, Mama,” Victoria said, and gave Lena a hug.
“We’ll make lots of good memories in this house, I promise.”
“We already have,” Lena said with a smile.
The next morning, Rafael and Victoria were at the real estate office before eight-thirty. They were so anxious to finalize this sale. As far as they knew, everything was done except for picking up their check and signing off on some sale contract and the property deed. All the other paperwork had been done long ago.
They took the check to the bank that had their personal accounts in it, and deposited it into a savings account. Rafael wanted it available while they were on the trip, just in case a good deal presented itself. He had been toying with the idea of buying up a couple of RV parks ever since they had taken their honeymoon the previous September. But he hadn’t done anything about looking into it.
He thought that while they were on this upcoming trip, that he would be observant of the parks that they stayed in and see what types of parks were the busiest, which were the nicest, or had the best amenities. It would be something to think about.
The next day, a Wednesday, Rafael went down to the park early to talk with Mickey about their upcoming absence, and to ascertain that Mickey felt comfortable being left in charge. Of course, he wasn’t alone there, but he would be the top dog while Rafael and Victoria were gone.
“I appreciate your trust in me,” Mickey told Rafael. “I believe that I will be able to handle things around here.”
“I’m only a phone call away if you have problems,” Rafael told him. “You are doing a fantastic job so far, and I’m so pleased to have you here.”
“Thanks, Rafael. I appreciate that,” Mickey said humbly.
“The only thing I’ll have to add to your duties is doing the bank deposits every night. I’ll have Ted do them on your days off.”
“No problem. You’ll just need to show me where your bank is and how you do it.”
“Yeah, I’ll give you the deposit slip book and the night drop bag. I just count out the cash, itemize it on the deposit slip, make sure it matches the printout from RAVA, and take it to the bank and put it in the night drop. Nothing to it.”
Rafael grinned at Mickey. RAVA was the specialized point-of-sale prog
ram that they used at Thornton Park.
“Sure, no problem,” Mickey said, who returned the grin
“This evening after closing, I’ll get together with you and Ted and go over it with you both and you can both ride with me to the bank,” Rafael told him.
“Works for me,” Mickey said.
Victoria went through the motorhome that morning to see what was needed for their trip. There was plenty of shampoo, conditioner, soaps of all kinds, toothpaste, mouthwash, a complete array of makeup and skincare products, clean towels and washcloths, plenty of clean underwear and socks for both of them. There were a few cans of soup, tuna, and beans, but more was needed. Victoria began making a list.
There were plenty of paper plates, cups, napkins, and plasticware. There was plastic wrap, baggies, foil, and dish soap. There were a dozen DVDs to watch, in case they were somewhere with no TV reception. The sheets were clean on the bed, and so were the pillowcases. Everything was good to go, except for a good dusting. But that could wait until the day before they left, or else it would just have to be done again then.
Victoria sat in the motorhome to make her list of food items that she would buy for them to start out with. She would only buy enough to last them for four or five days, due to storage space, or the lack thereof. Sitting in the motorhome to make the list inspired her to think of foods that would be easily prepared and eaten in the small space in which she had to work.
Boxed mac and cheese, pasta salads, instant potatoes, cold cereal, and sandwiches. Lots of sandwiches. Easy stuff that didn’t take a lot of room or time to prepare. It was a vacation, after all. She didn’t want to spend too much time cooking. When she had the list completed, she went in the house and put it in her purse. She wouldn’t go shopping until the day before they were to leave, so the perishables would be fresh.
Going up to the master suite, Victoria assessed her clothes and considered what to take on the trip. It was summer, so she would take light clothing, for the most part, but would also include a sweater and jacket for cool evenings at high altitudes. A couple of pairs of jeans were a must. Shorts and capris for warm days. A pair of dress slacks and a nice blouse for the random dressy occasion. Three or four tank tops, and tees. And leave room for new purchases along the way.
The Perfect Revenge: The Couplete Series Page 53